S04 CAF 6 2012 Agenda FR_Layout 1 30/10/2012 15:17 Page 18
AGENDA
Dimitra community listeners’ clubs tune in with Freeplay radios SET UP BY the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Dimitra project (FAO-Dimitra) in partnership with nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), Dimitra Community Listeners’ Clubs facilitate dialogue for individuals and groups and have proved to be an efficient way
for isolated rural communities to access information and engage in participatory communication which leads to action. The use of Freeplay’s solar and wind-up radios by the Community Listeners’ Clubs, has enabled villagers to share their concerns, priorities and needs, obtain
“In a village, not everyone can gather around a single radio set because the homes are scattered. So groups are made up according to distance. And the women get together to listen in a pre-arranged place.” Ali Abdoulaye, coordinator, VIE Kande Ni Bayra relevant information that would otherwise be beyond their reach and take constructive action together. The clubs are seen as a tool for empowering people, particularly women, and for giving them a voice and a role in their own development Freeplay radios are used by these clubs to listen to broadcasts and take part in debates about agriculture, food security and rural development, including health, education, and social issues. This is a great means of enabling communication within and between communities that share similar experiences, concerns
and opportunities. Each Community Listeners’ Club – and there are now more than 700 of them in both Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – is established following a process of consultation and training of women and men chosen by their own communities to guide the process. The clubs are then provided with Freeplay’s robust and reliable wind-up and solar-powered radios and strong relationships are built by the clubs with local radio stations, which broadcast programmes relevant to, and with input from, the clubs and their members.
Mitsumi IT Distribution particpates in GITEX MITSUMI IT DISTRIBUTION, one of Africa’s largest IT distributors, participated for the first time ever in GITEX Technology Week 2012 - a premier information and communications technology (ICT) event for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) held in mid-October at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Mitsumi IT Distribution participated in GITEX Technology Week 2012
18 Communications Africa Issue 6 2012
Mitsumi exhibited its product portfolio from renowned global vendor partners - including HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft, BenQ and Tripplite. With GITEX having an ‘Africa in Focus’ theme this year, Mitsumi benefitted from an increase in the number of delegations from countries expressing interest - including Algeria, Kenya, Libya, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tunisia. Mitsumi's participation at GITEX 2012 was designed to ensure the company's commitment to showcasing the rich opportunities available in Africa and to cement and further grow its reseller and vendor partner base. Jagat Shah, Chairman & CEO at Mitsumi IT Distribution, has spoken of GITEX Technology Week as “an excellent platform to showcase Mitsumi’s Africa operations and consolidate partnerships”. As part of GITEX’s ‘Africa in Focus’ campaign, the GITEX team met representatives from Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. While in Nairobi, the team met officials from Kenya’s ICT Board, who are committed to the goal of being among the top 10 ICT hubs in the world. Kenya’s national ICT Master Plan, an initiative by the Ministry of Information and Communication, aims to drive aggressive growth in the ICT sector by 2017, contributing 25 per cent to the country’s GDP. Mitsumi IT Distribution has an early-mover advantage in Africa since the company was the first to establish a chain of in-country presence in these markets ranging from facilities like warehousing, stocking points and support service centres in 1996.
Mr Jagat Shah, Chairman & CEO at Mitsumi IT Distribution Africa
Mitsumi has Sales offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, South Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius and Madagascar which adds up to 15 Warehouses and 8 Service Centres, thereby, making it the only truly ‘Africa Centric IT Distributor’ guaranteeing maximum reach to all global IT vendors.
http://mitsumidistribution.com